A Child's Happily Ever After
by Morine123
Summary: A week in Wonderland is an hour in Alice's world. So what exactly happened in the time that Hatter was not there? What will happen next? What were Hatter's plans after he found Alice? Syfy Alice/Hatter. Title subject to change
1. Chapter 1

**I have taken a slight break from the world of fanfiction, but upon seeing "Alice" I am back! I read Alice in Wonderland over the summer and immediately was intrigued by this strange world. I was more than happy to see Syfy's take on it. **

**Summary: A week in Wonderland is an hour in Alice's world. So what exactly happened in the time that Hatter was not there? What will happen next? What were Hatter's plans after he found Alice? (Syfy) Alice/Hatter.**

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Chapter 1

There were a few difficulties when it came to traveling between Wonderland and the mortal world. It was a little bit like jet-lag. Everything was all messed up. In one world it could be Friday, and the next it be Tuesday. The fall was also one that wasn't quite pleasant. One would wake up a bit dizzy and confused for a few moments. This was usually because they didn't know what was going on. They would come back to their senses just moments later.

This is why Alice was confused as she woke up in the hospital bed. An hour her mother had said. This meant that in the mortal world, she was only gone for an hour. Her entire life had changed in just one, mere hour. Alice felt her heart grow heavy, it was almost as if the last "hour" had never happened.

The drive back from the hospital to their apartment was a short one. Her mother rattled on about how much she was worried, and how thankful she was for there to be a kind construction worker.

Alice's mother found it strange that she had brought up her father. Yes, the topic did come up during dinner, but she didn't realize that Alice would think so much about it. Part of her was very worried for her daughter, the other part was joyous that Alice had finally come to the fact that her father wasn't coming back from wherever he disappeared to.

It took Alice two days to get back into the swing of things. She had put away all remembrances of her father, all but one little picture. She put this picture on the dresser in her room. It was one of her blowing bubbles while sitting on a bench in her father's lap. Alice smiled as she placed the picture on the dresser and put the box of other items in her closet far away from her reach.

She was just finished packing up her last box when her mother came into the room. Of course, her mother was curious, but her thoughts were cut off when she heard the doorbell ring.

It was scary for Alice's mother. Apparently this "David" was a construction worker and had found Alice lying on the cold cement. According to her mother, "David" notified a hospital and brought her to safety. Alice found this entire situation to be quite confusing, but she decided not to think too deeply into it.

"Alice? Come meet David."

Alice finished folding her map and put it with the rest of her old memories. She walked slowly towards the front door. She wasn't really in any hurry. There was a part of her that was really happy to be home. But this part was really only happy because of her mother. The other part, the sometimes more dominant one, longed to go back to Wonderland, back to Hatter.

Her mother wondered where Jack was. He seemed to disappear completely. When she asked Alice about this, all Alice could say was that it didn't work out and that he went back home to "England". Although her mother didn't admit it, she knew that Jack just wasn't the one.

But when her mother met "David" she felt like there could be something there. She never really was a matchmaker, but sometimes she just had a gut feeling.

When Alice looked up from playing with her fingers, she was more than pleasantly surprised to see the familiar face.

"Hatter!"

Alice's mother watched as Alice ran up to "David" and threw her arms around him. She was very confused as to _how_ these two knew each other. "David" told her mother that he had just moved to the neighborhood and construction was the only job he could find on such short notice.

She watched as the two whispered sweet words to one another. They pulled away from their second, no third kiss. Alice's mother cleared her throat, which caused Alice to turn her head.

"Oh…mom, this is my uh…"

Her mother raised her eyebrow as Alice seemed to be at a loss for words. She looked back at Hatter but he was also at a loss for words.

"Why don't we talk about this over a cup of tea? David, do you like tea?"

A wide smile came across Hatter's face. "I _love_ tea."

--

[_Back in Wonderland_]

Hatter didn't know what to do. He literally watched as his heart fell into a mirror, a portal to another world. And he did absolutely nothing to stop her.

"Why am I such a daft fool?" Hatter mumbled to himself.

He sat at the edge of a cut down tree while Charlie was chanting. While Jack had offered Charlie and Hatter to stay in the _other_ castle (because the Queen of Hearts had many castles, not just the casino), they both declined this offer. Charlie said that he needed to be in the woods in case there was ever any danger. Hatter stayed with Charlie because it was the only part of Alice he had left.

Hatter held the royal purple jacket in his hands. It was a bittersweet moment, Alice giving Hatter back the jacket. He was happy to have the jacket to remember her. Her scent still lingered on it. But part of him really wanted her to keep it. The thought of her forgetting him lingered in the back of his brain. Surely, if she kept this jacket, she wouldn't forget him. This token would be completely memorable.

"Why do you look so down Mr. Hatter?"

Hatter raised his eyebrows as Charlie stood over him with a skeptic look on his face. "I just let her jump into that mirror. Can you believe that?"

"Ah, we are talking about Alice of Legend. I was curious as to why didn't go after her!"

"She made it very clear that Wonderland is not the place for her."

Charlie moved and sat down on a fallen log. He took his armor off, which let him have more room to move around. The sun was setting and the temperature was dropping. They both knew that they would have to go back to the fire soon.

"Why do you say that?"

"She said that she had enough of Wonderland for a lifetime. How more obvious could she have been?"

Charlie sat up straighter from his position on the log. He was still completely exhausted from his large battle. "Did you make it clear that she was welcome to stay?"

Hatter's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember exactly the words he used. The more he thought about it, the more he regretted them. "I-I guess I wasn't exactly _friendly_ when she talked about coming back. But she said-"

"Oh rubbish what she said! I heard the conversation. You made it seem like you did not want her to come back."

Hatter stood up. This wasn't exactly his ideal conversation. "How else could I have put it without seeming like a fool?"

"Aha! I knew it. The heart is most foolish when it is in love Mr. Hatter."

Hatter looked back at the jacket in his hands. While he hadn't spoken the words out load, he knew exactly what his emotions were. Charlie was feeling quite proud of himself for figuring everything out.

Hatter was about to walk back, but he decided that there was no getting around it. He was at a moment where he simply did not know what to do. So he sat back down. He figured that Charlie was old, he must have all sorts of wisdom stuck in his mind.

"I don't know what to do, Charlie! I made such a horrible mistake. Of course I would make such a mistake," Hatter started mumbling to himself. "I didn't extend a proper invitation and now I may never see her again. Even if I went into her world, I wouldn't know where to find her. I don't know where she lives! I don't know how to get around in her world. She's never coming back and that's all my fault."

Hatter shook his head. "I should have gone with her, just like I said I would on that boat."

"What boat?"

"It doesn't matter now."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Hatter was trying to think about what he was going to do now. Charlie was trying to figure out a way to make everything right. He missed Alice quite dearly and wanted to make Hatter happy once again.

An idea sparked in Charlie's mind. "We need to build a house."

"A house?"

Charlie stood up very precariously. His back was hurting him and he was getting quite weak. "Yes, a house. Or at least a cottage. Something substantial."

Charlie started looking around for all types of wood. Hatter shook his head at Charlie. He knew that the man wouldn't be able to concentrate on this subject for more than a few minutes.

"Alright Charlie. You build yourself a cottage while I get some sleep."

"Yes, sleep. You need your sleep Mr. Hatter! We have a lot of work to do in the morning. I will start collecting the wood, you sleep. We will take turns. Very good idea."

Hatter rolled his eyes as he made his way back to the campsite. Charlie went the other war.

-

"And then we put this piece right here. Oh, but we need this type of wood to keep the house water resistant. Yes…this is going quite well. Ah- Hatter! You have woken up. Good heavens, I need some strong hands."

Hatter rubbed his eyes from his spot on the cold ground. It wasn't uncomfortable, for he had gotten used to it. What did shock him was the fact that a sort of skeleton of a house was being build a few yards away from him.

"What is he doing?" Hatter asked himself.

He stood up, the purple jacket falling to the ground as he did so. He quickly picked it up from its spot on the ground and hung it on a tree branch. After he did this, he walked over to the "house" and looked at Charlie, who was putting various logs into a pile.

"Charlie? What in heavens name are you doing?"

"Did I not tell you? I'm building a house of course."

Hatter saw the bags forming around Charlie's eyes. He closed his eyes and shook his head. He didn't think that Charlie was _actually_ serious about building a house. "Charlie, you need to get some rest. I'll finish with the house and you get some sleep okay?"

Charlie walked over to Hatter and handed him a stack of very light logs. "If you insist Mr. Hatter! But might I ask, do you know what you are doing?"

Hatter sighed. "I have built a house before. Not on my own, but I think I will be able to manage for a few hours. Don't worry about it. You just get some sleep."

Charlie bowed once before heading back to his own sleeping spot. Hatter didn't exactly want to build a house, but he knew that he would need to get his mind off of…_everything. _

So, he started building the house just as Charlie asked him to.

-

Two weeks went by in Wonderland. Hatter had started to go into somewhat of a depression. Yes, he ate. But he rarely ever slept. He spent all hours of the day working on that house. He still wasn't even so sure as to why he did it. Charlie never really gave him a straight answer, he was always very broad about the entire situation.

Another week went by, and the house was not yet done, but it was getting there. Usually a house would take much longer to build, months, even years with a big crew of people. But Charlie and Hatter were doing excellent work.

It was only when Hatter seemed to go further into his depression that Charlie finally put step B of his plan into action.

"Mr. Hatter."

Hatter looked up from his part of the house to listen to what Charlie had to say. "What is it Charlie?"

"I can finish this house on my own. But it has already been three weeks! You must get back to Alice before it gets to be too late."

"What are you talking about? Why are we building a house?"

Charlie walked up to Hatter and put his hands on his shoulders. "We musn't let Alice of Legend sleep on the ground! She needs a house."

A little light bulb suddenly lit up in Hatter's brain. And while he was completely nervous about the entire situation, he still knew exactly what he had to do.

Two hours later, and he was on Charlie's horse, heading towards Jack Heart's castle.

-

"It is nice to see you again Hatter. I hope the journey here was not a very long one."

Hatter shook his head quickly. He wanted to have as little conversation with the prince as possible. "It was only a little over a day sir. But I assume you know why I came."

Jack smiled. "Yes of course. I am quite surprised that you haven't come to me sooner."

"Yes, well, I had some things to take care of."

Jack got off of his spot on his throne and walked towards Hatter. "I am a little curious as to what your plan was going to be when you got to the other world. Surely you can't go dressed in _that._"

Hatter's head fell down a little bit in embarrassment. _This_ was exactly why he didn't want to go to Alice's world through Jack.

"I…"

"Of course I would be more than willing to let you have a few of my belongings from the other world. I still have quite a few articles of clothing and we appear to be about the same size. Money will not be much of an issue. I just need you to understand that if you do decide to come back, you cannot bring Alice back with you."

This comment surprised Hatter. "Why not?"

Jack let out a little sigh as he walked around a table located in the throne room. "We have stopped the intake of oysters into this world. While I will always accept Alice with open arms, it isn't safe. There are still some people out there that are taking oysters into this world and taking their emotions. An underground scientist was able to recreate the exact experiments going on in the casino. We have been doing everything we can to stop this, but there are many underground makeshift casinos out there. If you brought Alice back, she would be in severe danger."

Hatter shook his head and stepped forward. "But how are they able to get the oysters through the looking glass? You must have security of some sort surrounding it."

"Apparently there is another sort of portal to get to Alice's world. We still have not been able to find it. Anyways, as long as you don't bring Alice back, I think that everything will be fine. Follow me and I will give you proper instructions."

Hatter nodded his head in silence. He did want to bring Alice back to his home, but if this was his only option to get back to Alice, he had no other choice.

--

[_Back in Alice's World_]

"You mean it's been three weeks in Wonderland? It's only been two days here," whispered Alice.

Alice had explained to her mother that "David" was an old boyfriend. They were only together for a few days, which is why Alice never bothered to tell anyone. She seemed to believe this story entirely and invited him to stay for dinner. He accepted the invitation gratefully.

After dinner Alice's mother went off to sleep, leaving Alice and Hatter to sit on the couch.

"Give or take a few days. The timing is different here than it is in Wonderland. That's why it was almost as if you were gone for a mere hour."

"Why didn't you come sooner?"

"Charlie wanted to build a ho-" Hatter stopped himself. He wasn't planning on telling Alice that she wasn't supposed to go back to Wonderland. He told her that he went to her world and planned on staying there forever with her. This way Alice would be safe and he would still get the "happily ever after" of a children's book.

"I mean, Charlie. He needed someone to make sure he was all right. Once he convinced me that he was okay, I asked Jack for some assistance to get me to you. But it doesn't matter, I'm here now."

This caused a huge smile to appear on Alice's face. She leaned forward and gave Hatter a gentle, yet passionate kiss on the lips. "Yes, yes you are."

Hatter deepened the kiss. He hated lying to Alice, but he knew that it was only for her own safety. If she knew what was going on back in Wonderland, she would definitely want to try to put a stop to it. He wasn't willing to risk that.

Hatter planned on never letting Alice seeing Wonderland again, but Alice had other plans.

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**Comments? Suggestions? I'm not so sure if I am going to continue the story. Any thoughts? **

**Thanks for reading!**

**- Morine **


	2. Chapter 2

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS!!! They gave me the push to continue on with this story. I know this chapter is quite short, but I wanted to get something out. Not much is happening, but by the next chapter, everything will be rolling smoothly. **

**I promise this story is not going to be all light and boring though. There will be a fair share of action as well as fluff. **

**Enjoy! **

Chapter 2

"All I am saying is that you and Jack seemed all cuddly just a few days ago. How can you move on so quickly?"

Alice and her mother were sitting in the kitchen drinking warm cups of coffee. Alice didn't need to go to work because her boss said she needed her rest. Her mother was happy that her daughter was okay, but she was worried about the new man in her life.

"For the last time, it wasn't serious with Jack. I thought it was, but then I realized we were with each other for all of the wrong reasons."

Her mother sighed. "What wrong reasons? Jack seemed to be lovely."

"And Hat-David isn't?" Alice asked in a defensive tone.

"That's not what I'm saying. David is a very nice young man, but I think that you two are rushing into things. I don't know anything about him."

"Do you need to? He makes me happy, mom. Isn't that enough?"

Her mother took another sip of her coffee before continuing. "Of course it's enough. I'm just worried about you. You seemed to be so happy with Jack. What went wrong?"

"He was using me. And I was just with him because it was convenient. Hatter isn't like that. He traveled all of this way just to be with me."

"Speaking of that, why hasn't he found a place to live yet?"

Alice shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't like it when her mother asked her so many questions. She didn't like it when she had to lie to answer these questions. "He was staying with a friend, but his friend is going to sell his apartment. We're probably going to buy an apartment…together."

Her mother blinked a few times. "When were you planning on telling me this? When did you two decide this?"

"Last night. Please mother, I'm telling you now. I know that it seems like he just came into my life, but he's been here for a while. At least it feels that way."

Alice's mother watched as her daughter tried to explain her reasons for moving in with a boy she hardly knew. She knew that her daughter wasn't foolish and that she knew what she was doing. But she couldn't stop the tears that were rolling down her very own cheeks.

"Mom, why are you crying?" asked Alice.

"I'm losing my daughter," whispered her mother.

Alice put her mug of coffee down and stood up. She then walked around the small table and wrapped her arms around her mother. "You're not losing me. Why do you say that?"

"I see the way you look at him and the way he looks at you. I knew that one day someone would take you away, but I didn't expect for it to happen so soon."

Alice frowned. It wasn't that she was planning on leaving her mother forever, but she did wish to return to Wonderland in the near future.

"Weren't you the one who said that I needed to find someone to settle down with? Weren't you the one that said I needed to start spreading my wings and find a new apartment?"

She shook her head. "You know that I love to have you here. I just meant that-"

"I know what you meant, mom. And now I'm doing just that, spreading my wings."

Her mother wiped away a stray tear with the back of her hand. Alice didn't like the fact that she made her own mother cry, but she knew that she was making the right choices in her life. For once, she knew exactly where she was going and how to get there.

"Do you love this David?"

The question at first came as a slight shock to Alice. Nobody had asked her this before. But before she really had time to think carefully about what she was saying, she gave her answer. "Yes. I do, mom."

Her mother smiled as tears stopped rolling down her cheeks. "Well then, I guess I can only be happy for you. He is welcome to stay here as long as he wants."

Alice wrapped her arms tightly around her mother. "Thank you," she whispered into her mother's ear.

_Ding Dong_

Alice stood up straight and immediately straightened out her clothing. Hatter had decided to go back to Jack's apartment for a little while. He wanted to collect some money and start to package some things. Jack told him that he could keep the apartment, but to be quite honest, he didn't feel too comfortable living in Alice's ex-boyfriend's apartment.

"You are more beautiful than a flower in the most beautiful garden. No…too cheesy. These petals are as silky as your beautiful hair…no. May- oh Alice. I uh, I didn't realize you opened the door," said Hatter in a chipper voice.

He let out a very nervous laugh and looked at Alice, who seemed to be giving him a very strange look.

"I'm sorry that I took so long. I got a tad bit lost."

Alice rolled her eyes. "I told you that you would. You should have let me come with you."

Hatter shook his head. "You needed time with your mother. Oh- these are for you," said Hatter as he handed Alice a giant bouquet of flowers. Hatter still didn't exactly understand how everything worked in this world. Jack told him that he could spend all of the money he wanted, for he didn't need any of it anymore. He saw a hundred dollar bill located in Jack's wallet. He didn't know how much this was worth. A bottle or lust? Or perhaps a bottle of happiness? There wasn't exactly a currency exchange on any of the counters.

So Hatter took his hundred dollar bill and told the florist to give him whatever that would get. He figured that one hundred dollars was just a little more than he expected.

"Whoa, these are a lot of flowers. Here, we can put them on the dinning room table."

Alice took the giant punch of flowers from Hatter's hands. Luckily, the florist gave him a put big enough to hold everything. She placed the pot gently on the middle of the dinning table and turned around to find Hatter still in the frame of the door with a suitcase next to him.

"You can come in, you know."

"Oh."

Hatter smiled and took the suitcase into the house with him. He closed the door behind him and set the suitcase aside. Alice took notice that he was wearing a new hat. It was an unfamiliar one, but it looked good on his head, as all hats did.

Alice stepped closer to Hatter and tapped his hat lightly. "Thanks for the flowers."

Hatter bowed and took off his hat in courtesy. "Anything for me lady."

This movement caused Alice to giggle, which Hatter found quite adorable. She stepped even closer as Hatter put his had back on and stood up straight once again. Her arms immediately wrapped around his neck, and his arms found her waist. He held her in his arms as they kissed with great ardor. Alice's mother wandered out of the kitchen to find them. She knew that Alice moving out would be the best thing. Her and David needed their privacy, and they couldn't have it with her hanging around.

--

"This dinner is quite delicious," mumbled Hatter as he took another bite of his meal.

Alice's mother smiled. She was quite glad that he was enjoying her cooking so much. She was used to just cooking for Alice, it was a nice change to cook for someone else for a change.

"Thank you, David. I'm happy that you enjoy it."

Alice's mother looked over at her daughter, who was looking at David with loving eyes. She figured that it was time to bring out her new plan. "I know that you two are starting to look for your own apartment, but I was thinking," Alice held her breath as she listened to what her mother was about to say. "Maybe you two can stay here, and I will find a new apartment. This place is too big for just me alone."

Alice put down her fork and knife. "But you love this apartment. We don't want to take it away from you."

"Oh, nonsense. I'll visit enough. Think of it as my house-warming gift."

Alice looked over to Hatter, who had also put his utensils down. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. It wasn't really his place to say anything on the matter. It was really between Alice and her mother.

"Mom…we really would be more comfortable just getting a new place. I've already found a few listings. This place is too big for the both of us, and you are so comfortable here. We don't want to take it away from you."

Carol knew that her daughter was stubborn. When she had an opinion, she was adamant on sticking to it. This is why she turned to David. "What do you think, David?"

He looked over at Alice nervously. He cleared his throat once before answering Alice's mother's question. "I'm happy wherever Alice is happy. You have a marvelous house, but I would not want to take it away from you."

Alice piped up. "Exactly. Plus, Hatter and I will probably be doing a lot of _traveling_, so a small apartment would be nice."

"Who is this 'Hatter' you keep mentioning? And where are you two traveling?"

Alice immediately realized her mistake. She looked over at Hatter, who was completely frozen in his place. "Hatter…is…Hatter is my nickname for David. He always wears a hat, so, that's where the name comes from. And I don't know, perhaps we will visit Hatter's hometown for a little while. Not for long of course. But we don't want a huge place that we won't spend much of our time in."

"Oh…well I guess a smaller place would make more sense then. The offer is still there if you ever wish to take it."

Alice smiled in victory. She patted Hatters knee before resuming her meal.

Now, Hatter was no fool. He knew that when Alice had said _traveling_, she didn't mean in her world. She meant going back to Wonderland. And from the way she put it, she meant quite often. Hatter didn't realize that she had any interests to return to Wonderland. He thought she had enough of Wonderland for her life.

Alice thought there was something different with Hatter, but she decided not to ask him about it. After all, he was the Mad Hatter.

**Comments? Suggestions? I would love to hear your feedback! As I said before, the next chapter will be more eventful. Thanks for reading! **

**- Morine **


	3. Chapter 3

**Woohoo! We finally have our own little section :D. I was starting to feel a tad bit guilty for taking over _Alice In Wonderland's_ (the movie) page. **

**Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! **

**This chapter is mostly fluff, but I find this fluff to be important to the story simply because it is Hatter and Alice fluff. The next chapter will get a little more exciting, I promise. **

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter Three 

"And here we have a one bedroom one bath. It's a little bit on the small side, but it comes at a cheaper price. It's in your budget and is in your exact neighborhood. The few will be better after they are done with the construction going on downstairs. Feel free to look around."

Their tour guide went to talk with the owners as she let the young couple look around. Alice held onto Hatter's hand tightly as she started walking through the apartment. The coloring on the walls was absolutely hideous, but a little paint could fix that. It was quite small, but Alice knew that it would only be a temporary place. She planned on spending a lot of time with Hatter, most of her time actually, and her mother breathing over their shoulders didn't exactly make them comfortable.

Trying to make out on the couch with your mother doing yoga in the next room, not very romantic.

Over the course of four days Alice and Hatter were able to look at over six apartments. Alice found all of them to either be too small, too big, to far away, smelly, revolting, have bad fung shuei, etc.

The apartment they were in at that very moment was the seventh one they looked at.

Alice dragged Hatter into the apartment, which was already filled with boxes. The owners had already bought their new house and were willing to sell this one as soon as possible.

"Well?"

Hatter looked around and shrugged his shoulders. There was nothing _wrong_ with the apartment, it just wasn't…home. "It's nice."

Alice sighed and put her hands on Hatter's shoulders. "That's what you've said about the last six apartments. Do you like it or do you not like it?"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for. I'm not exactly used to a proper apartment. My living space consisted of a desk, a closet, and tea. That's what happens when you run a teashop."

A frown formed on Alice's face. "Oh."

Hatter's arms wrapped around Alice's waist immediately. "Please don't frown. It's nothing really. I just don't know what a proper apartment is supposed to look like. I am perfectly content wherever you are."

A small smile appeared on Alice's face. "That's sweet. But just tell me if you like the _feel_ of any of these apartments. It won't be forever."

"What do you mean 'it won't be forever'? What are you saying, Alice?"

"Take it easy. I mean the apartment. The apartment we buy right now isn't going to last us forever."

Hatter let a breath of relief leave his lungs. "Oh."

He made his decision with his eyes wide open. He knew that when he left Wonderland, going back might not have been a possibility. But ever since Alice ran into his open arms, he knew that he made the right choice. He missed Wonderland and (although he never admitted it) Charlie. Every second he worried about the old man.

"So what do you think? I actually kind of like this place. It's a little bit on the small side, but it's cozy. And it's actually really cheap."

"I still don't know how money works around here. But I do like the apartment. It has a, what did you say? Oh right, it has a nice _feel_ to it."

Alice smacked Hatter on his arm lightly. "So is this it? Are we sure about this one? I know it won't be permanent. But for now is this it?"

Hatter tightened his taut grip on Alice's waist. "I guess so."

They both smiled as they shared yet another kiss.

--

"This box is labeled 'dishes'. Where would you like me to put it?" asked Hatter, carrying the rather heavy box in his hands.

Alice was in the other room putting some of her clothing away. "Just put it in the kitchen!" she yelled. Her soft voice wouldn't have carried far enough otherwise.

Hatter huffed and puffed as he set the large box down on the kitchen counter. The owners of the apartment moved out within a few days. A week later, and Hatter and Alice started moving in. Alice's mother let the young couple have a lot of materials from her apartment. She didn't need all of the dishes or all of the books that Alice loved to read. There was some furniture that had to be bought, such as a couch and a coffee table. Alice's bed was big enough to fit both her and Hatter, so there was no need to buy a new one.

"How many boxes are left?" asked Alice as she walked into the room.

Hatter sat down on one of the stools in the kitchen and shook his head. "None. That was the last one, and heaviest. Why would anyone ever need that many dishes?"

Alice shrugged her shoulders and sat on the stool next to him. "I don't know. But dishes break, I guess extras could always come in handy."

Hatter wrapped his arm around Alice's shoulders. He tilted his hat and then kissed her fully on the lips.

"Why don't we see how comfortable the bed is in the new bedroom?" Hatter kissed Alice one more time deeply, which caused Alice to tangle her hands in her hair.

Alice squeaked when Hatter lifted her up and carried her into the bedroom…

--

Hatter didn't regret the decision he made. He always considered Wonderland his home, but wasn't home where your heart is? In that case, home was wherever Alice was. And Alice belonged in this world. He would risk his life for her. He _did_ risk his life for her.

Regardless of all this information, Hatter still was getting homesick. He missed his teashop, as horrible as it was, it was his home. He missed his white chair and people knowing his name. In this strange world, he was only "David", not Hatter. There were a million "David's" but there was only one "Hatter".

And Hatter started to worry about Charlie more and more. He had probably finished the house by now. Two weeks in Alice's world had gone by. Two very short, but amazing weeks. That was probably over a few months in Wonderland. Hatter didn't have time to tell Charlie that he wasn't coming back. Charlie was probably still waiting for them, and it was all Hatters fault.

The tea trade in Wonderland was still going on. No, it was not legalized, but it was still there. There were still oysters being taken into Wonderland. Hatter made a vow that he would stop the trade in Wonderland, and he did this, but not all the way. With his help the casino was destroyed, but that didn't stop everyone. He would have continued to go against the trade if it were not for Alice. Did that make him weak?

These thoughts haunted Hatter every night, which made it very difficult for him to find much sleep. He enjoyed sitting on Alice's fire escape with a hat on his head and a cup of tea in his hands. The tea in Alice's world wasn't exactly his idea of tasty, but he figured that he should get used to it.

Alice rolled over on her comfortable bed. She stretched her arms, attempting to cuddle up to Hatter. She was quite cold being that the window was open (Hatter always forgot to close it when he was on the fire escape). She moved her arm around in the bed only to find cold sheets. This worried Alice completely.

She immediately opened her eyes and sat up slightly. The time on the clock said 2:32 AM. It was much too late for Hatter to be out anywhere. Alice looked around the room. The bedroom door was open, but it always was. There was no light illuminating from the kitchen or living room. From the lack of body heat on the sheets Alice was able to tell that Hatter had been out of bed for quite a while.

Alice threw on some pajama bottoms and a regular top. She threw a rope on over her clothing, prepared to go to her mother's house and look for Hatter. She was about to put on her shoes until she saw a figure sitting on her fire escape. She knew exactly who it was just from the posture.

Alice climbed through the tiny window and sat on the fire escape next to Hatter. "Hey."

Hatter jumped at the sudden noise. For some very strange reason he wasn't able to hear Alice climb through the window or sit next to him. He found this to be impossible, but he figured that his thoughts were elsewhere, which would make his senses slightly weaker.

"Did I wake you?"

Alice shook her head and looked at the small teacup in Hatter's hands. "No. I woke up and you were gone. I thought-"

"That I left?"

Alice looked down at her naked toes, ashamed. "It was just the first thought that came to my mind."

Hatter put his teacup down and tucked a strand of Alice's hair behind her ear. "I told you I wasn't going anywhere."

"I know. I've just…I've sort of had this problem with people leaving me. I know that my father didn't just leave, but the idea of being left alone again…it's just not very easy."

Hatter wrapped both of his arms around Alice's torso. This caused her to lean into him and rest her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head and nuzzled his nose into her hair. "I _promise_ you I'm not going anywhere. I would never do that to you, ever. You can trust me…you do trust me, right?"

Alice turned her head so that she was looking directly into Hatter's eyes. "Of course I trust you! I'm just…scared."

She wrapped her strong, yet delicate arms around Hatter's waist and tried to absorb some of his warmth.

Hatter held her tighter to his chest and kissed her forehead. "Me too. But everything is going to be dandy, just you wait and see!"

Alice giggled at Hatter's light attitude. She suddenly realized that they were not in a warm, comfortable bed, but rather on a very cold fire escape. "Why were you out here in the first place? Was the bed too comfortable for you?" Alice asked in a sarcastic tone.

"_No_. I just haven't been able to sleep all that well lately is all. Don't worry about it. I'm just still trying to get used to everything here. There's a lot that's different. For one thing there is no grass growing on the floor of the apartment, and there are actual walls. I guess that's better for someone who doesn't have much of an appetite for heights."

Alice looked over Hatter's shoulder to see that they were a bit higher up than Alice realized. She clutched onto Hatter tighter. "Don't remind me."

Hatter let out a small chuckle and unwrapped himself from Alice. "Let's get back to sleep then. Shall we?"

Alice nodded her head before climbing back into their apartment through the window. Hatter took his teacup with him before setting it down in the kitchen sink. He would have put the dirty dish in the dishwasher, but he still wasn't quite sure how this machine worked.

Hatter managed to make his way back into the bedroom without tripping over the myriad of boxes. Once he got to the bedroom, he found that Alice had closed the window and was already snuggled up in bed. Hatter fell down on the bed slowly before taking Alice into his arms and wrapping the blankets around them. He then turned the light off and kissed the top of Alice's head one more time.

"Goodnight, Alice."

Alice sighed in contentment. "Goodnight, Hatter."

--

It was 4:46 AM the next time Hatter awoke. He didn't have any dreams, none that he was able to remember anyways. He looked over at Alice, who had curled up in a tiny ball at the other side of the bed. He missed the close contact with her, but knew that he wouldn't get any proper sleep until he set things right.

So Hatter hopped out of bed and quickly put the clothes he still had from Wonderland on. He stepped into his shoes and put his hat gracefully on before looking at the beautiful girl sleeping peacefully.

He walked over to the bed quietly, so not to wake her. A drawn out kiss on the cheek and forehead was the closest Hatter dared to get to her.

"I love you," he whispered before getting up and walking towards the bedroom door. He looked back one more time before walking briskly to the front door.

A few steps later and Hatter was out the door and looking into the giant mirror that sat in the ally a few blocks away from their apartment.

* * *

**Comments? Suggestions? I will hopefully get the next chapter up soon. Thanks for reading! **

**- Morine **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for the wonderful chapters! I was so happy, I was eating lunch with my friend and she was wearing a shirt with the White Rabbit and I asked if she saw Alice, which she hadn't, but my other friend had and it was very nice to know that there are others out there! **

**Anyways- enough personal stuff that you guys don't even read, and onto the story! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Four

"Git off of me flowers ya hear!"

Hatter scrambled up so that he was standing up instead of lying on his back. "Ow," he mumbled.

"Look at what ya did! These flowers don't take a few minutes to grow. Git gone now."

Hatter put his hat back on his head, for it fell off just as he was falling on this woman's precious flowers. "I'm sorry for being a burden to you and your flo…"

Hatter cut himself off when he looked up at what Wonderland had turned into. In front of him stood a few yards of garden life. A little while away was a little cottage. He looked back at the woman trying to fix up her flowers. The cottage obviously belonged to her.

With a tip of the hat, Hatter tilted his head and apologized to the lady. She sighed. "The king gives me this land and of course it is where the portal through the looking glass used to be. First they make the emotions illegal, and now this? What has come of this place? What do you need, sir? Are you from the other world?"

Hatter shook his head. "I'm no oyster. I'm a native of this here Wonderland. How did you know that I came through the looking glass?"

The woman stopped primping her flowers for a minute to look at Hatter. There was something about him that looked vaguely familiar. "I know this here is Wonderland, but people don't just fall from the sky. When I moved in people warned me of this, but the king has been giving land to everyone! They call it the 'restoration'," the woman scoffed. "Restoration…it's no better than it was before! Say…how long were you up there?"

"You mean in the other world?" Hatter pointed upwards, but he wasn't so sure if it was correct to point in this direction.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course."

"Well…I was there for on average two weeks, so here it must have been months in Wonderland."

The woman raised her eyebrows. "You got a lot to catch up my dear boy. Don't go causing no trouble, the game has changed here. Say…you look familiar. What's yer name again?"

Hatter gave the woman a very skeptical look. She didn't seem like she was in any trouble. She just seemed like a normal Wonderland citizen. But there was something fishy about her, something he didn't like. "Hatter."

The woman's eyes widened as she stepped closed to Hatter. "_The_ Hatter?"

Hatter took a step back. He didn't like the tiny glint in the woman's eyes. "I'm assuming there is not another. Do I know you?"

"The name is Angela. Angela Hurit. No, we haven't met before. But I heard that you run," Angela started whispering. "a _tea shop._"

"Correction. Ran."

The hopeful expression on Angela's face dropped. "So you _don't_ have any more emotions?"

Hatter raised an eyebrow. "The tea business has closed."

"You _have _missed a lot."

"You mean it's back?" asked Hatter in a louder voice than usual.

"Sh! Keep yer voice down. Ya never know when they are listening. The queen was sent to the jail, which caused the Prince of Hearts to become the King."

"Jack," whispered Hatter."

Angela nodded her head as she started guiding Hatter through her garden. She wasn't comfortable having this conversation out in the open like this. "King Jack, yes. He started a complete new system of government. Before it was just the oyster's emotions. Now, now emotions will get you far, but only in certain places. He's adopted the oyster's economic system. Coins! Can you believe that? Coins. Cheap pieces of metal are what we base our lives on. These _coins_ determine where we belong in Wonderland."

"Yes, I know about the oyster's economy. Where can I get these coins?"

"Work! Work! Work! I'm working on this…this flower planting business for these coins. And some people even want coins for an oyster's emotions!"

Hatter tilted his head. He was becoming more and more interested in this topic by the second. "How many coins for an oyster's emotions?"

Angela shook her head. "It's a very dangerous game ya know! Collectin' oysters that is. 100 coins for a few drops of passion. Different emotions have different prices. Ya sure ya don't have no _tea?_ Passion _is_ my personal favorite, but any will do."

Hatter shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I left that business a while back."

"But everyone suggests me to ya! 'Hatter will know where to git the good stuff. He's the best in the business.'"

Hatter felt a moment of flattery at this. He was great at what he did. He played both teams, but still managed to win on both sides. He made profits and was able to bring in more customers than anyone had heard of. He had inside connections that would get him anywhere.

Hatter closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. What he did was _wrong_. Using innocent people's emotions for profit was _wrong_. Alice could have very easily been one of the people in the casino if she hadn't escaped. That thought alone made Hatter know that he would never belong in the business.

"Well…those days are over."

Angela sighed in disappointment. "Well I guess I ought to let you be on yer way. I s'pose you know where yer going?"

Hatter nodded his head. He knew Wonderland from the back of his hand. "Thank you so much, Angela. I am awfully sorry about the flowers. I hope they grow out to be all right."

Angela smiled. "It'll be fine. Ya have a good day now."

Angela started to move back towards mending her garden when Hatter walked the other way, towards the city.

--

The entire city seemed to be under construction. There were walls being built on buildings missing walls and growing grass. There were trees and real flowers being planted. The roads that were once broken were being fixed. The citizens of Wonderland had to walk around all of this work, but people had seemed to fall into a natural rhythm of things.

As Hatter looked around, he noticed that people actually were starting to do things. There were little shops being opened and little restaurants. He didn't see any advertisements for emotions or oysters. There was no desolate feel in the air, but a rather lively one.

People weren't exactly talking to one another, but nobody was avoiding each other's presence. Hatter wasn't used to this new world. He was used to walking along edges of buildings and trying to stay hidden from people who were out to get him.

Hatter followed the path he found familiar. There was a staircase that led to the low level part of the city. It wasn't underground, but it was definitely easy to get lost if one didn't know their way around. Not only was it difficult, but it could be dangerous.

Hatter immediately recognized his surroundings. This low-level city hadn't changed at all. Either Jack hadn't gotten to this part of the city, or he was just merely ignoring its presence.

"Hey there sexy. What are you doing tonight?" asked a girl standing beside the door of the broken down motel. Hatter didn't recognize her. Susan always advertised beside that door, not this new girl. Hatter never gave Susan any business, but they saw each other quite often, enough to be on a first name basis.

Hatter tipped his hat at this new girl and continued walking. He knew the important people in this part of the city. They knew him as well. Hatter could only pray that they remembered the good he did for them, not what he did by joining the resistance.

Hatter recognized the store immediately. He bought all of his clothing there, including the clothes he was wearing at that very moment.

As he walked into the store, there was no bell ringing. The old man at the counter looked up when Hatter walked into the room. A toothy smile took over his face as he motioned for Hatter to step in further.

"My friend, long time no see. You haven't given someone else your business have you?"

Hatter shook his head and walked further into the room. It was a tiny little store, only a few items on display. The man who owned the store gave Hatter clothes in return for the emotions. It was just the way everything worked.

"Of course not. I went into the other world for a little while."

The owner raised his eyebrows. "Collecting some oysters?"

Hatter shook his head. He was a little offended that someone would thing of him to do something that awful. Kidnapping an innocent person and using their emotions just for one's own gain. Hatter was guilty as it was to have been doing that before he met Alice.

"Not anymore, my friend."

"Ah, okay. Well, what can I help you with here today?"

Hatter started looking at the few coats that were on display. "I've actually been in the other world for quite some time. The coins used are still very foreign to me."

"The new King is trying to create a new basis for money. Ever since the casino was knocked down, he's been changing everything. Some people say it's good. Nobody in this part of city likes it. If you're looking for some spare coins, I can't help you. I've barely got enough as it is. The emotions are expensive now!"

Hatter was shocked that his old friend would still be a part of the trade even after it was banned. But Hatter knew that the best way to win any game was to keep a poker face. And that's exactly what he did. "I hear that someone has been able to find another looking glass. They're taking oysters from the other world and bringing them here. They've created their own casino."

The shop owner nodded his head. "You always were able to pick up everything quickly. There is another looking glass, but nobody knows where it is. The King has been looking for it, but nobody can find it. The most powerful people down here don't even know where it is, or how it works. It doesn't need the stone of Wonderland, you know."

"Whoever created it must been some sort of genius."

The storekeeper shrugged his shoulders. "I guess so. Did you need anything today? I know that I still owe you some clothing from a little while back. Do you need a new jacket? The one you're wearing is still in tip top shape, I see."

Hatter shook his head and stepped away from the jacket he was toying with. "Not today. I just wanted to stop by and see how things were going. Thanks for everything. I'll try and stop by again."

Hatter stepped out of his shop while waving goodbye.

"Well that gave me a tad bit of information. It's still not enough to make sure this trade is stopped."

Hatter went on through the streets of Wonderland muttering to himself. He had a few other stops, but he didn't want to make himself seem any more suspicious than he already was. He still needed to get back to Charlie and explain to him how Alice was not allowed back into Wonderland because it was not safe for her. He didn't have that much more time. He was afraid that he would take too long and Alice would wake up with him gone.

He _promised _her he would never leave.

Hatter saw a few _tea_ dealings along the streets. Nobody paid any particular attention to him because he looked like he fit in perfectly. He paid close attention to the emotions being traded. The most common ones such as lust and passion were the ones he saw the most of.

As he turned a corner, he bumped into something soft. He was about to apologized when he recognized the familiar face.

"What are you doing here?"

* * *

**Cliffhanger...only kind of because most of you probably know who it is. **

**Thanks for reading! The reviews really make my day :). **

**- Morine **


	5. Chapter 5

**I do apologize! The holidays brought me away from my beloved laptop, that is why no chapter was uploaded sooner. I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday! **

**This chapter is very short, but hopefully chapter six will be uploaded by tomorrow. I'm almost done with it! **

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter Five 

Alice never had a difficult time sleeping. It would take her only a few minutes to fall asleep and then she was gone for the rest of the night. She wasn't the deepest of sleepers, but she wasn't woken up too easily.

This was all before Hatter and her shared a bed.

Alice had grown accustomed to the way her body seemed to mold into his. She was used to the warmth his body exuded underneath the sheets. The way Hatter's arms wrapped around her always made her smile, even if she was trying to fall asleep.

Alice found that she had quite some difficulties sleeping without him.

This is why Hatter's absence woke Alice up within an hour.

"Hatter?" asked Alice.

Alice sat up fully in bed and looked around. The window of her bedroom was shut closed, causing no cool air to filter in.

Alice got out of bed and started looking around. She thought that maybe he got hungry and decided to get something to eat in the kitchen. She looked all over her apartment, but he was nowhere to be found. This caused panic in her eyes.

Her first impulse was to call her mother and see if he showed up on her doorstep. But then she put a few puzzle pieces together in her mind before wandering over to her closet. Alice didn't have that many clothes, but neither did Hatter. This left them with one medium size closet in their new apartment. Alice had the right side of the closet while Hatter had the left. He always left his outfit from Wonderland in the same spot.

Once Alice opened those closet doors, she was able to see exactly what was missing.

Alice dug through her closet and threw a proper shirt on. She was about to change into a pair of jeans, but she was too frantic to bother. She threw a pair of boots over her checked pajama bottoms. Actually, they were Hatter's new ones, but she found them much more comfortable than her own.

Over this, she threw a long jacket over her shoulders and ran out the door. She didn't bother to leave a note, or lock the door. She just ran.

Alice just didn't know exactly what she would be running into.

--

"You'd think after doing this a few times, I would become a little more skilled at breaking this fall," Alice muttered to herself. She stood up straight and brushed a few dust particles off her clothing.

"Oh boy, yer all just fallin' from the sky, aren't ya?"

Alice turned around at the old woman's voice. She shuffled her feet nervously and looked back at the woman. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to um…fall on your…garden."

Alice looked around at all of the flowers and plants growing. The old woman shook her head and started mumbling to herself. Alice wasn't able to make out the words, even from the short distance. It then dawned on her what the old woman had said.

"Excuse me. Did you say that others fell on this spot?"

The old woman stopped her mumbling and nodded her head quickly. "Just one boy."

Alice's heart leapt as she realized that this must have been Hatter. "What did he look like?"

"He was a cute lad, nice face."

"Did he give you a name?"

The old woman wasn't one who liked giving away too much information, but she didn't mind it either. She walked closer to the girl who fell from the sky. She had a pretty face and petite figure, and she looked a little familiar, but the old woman could not put a finger as to how she knew this girl.

"What's it to you?"

Alice was a little taken back by the old woman's harsh tone. She was also starting to get a bit more antsy. She was worried that something bad happened to Hatter.

"A….friend of mine came to Wonderland, and I'm just looking for him."

Alice longed to use the word _boyfriend_, but the last time she went to Wonderland in hopes of finding her boyfriend, he ended up engaged. Alice knew that Hatter wasn't engaged, but she didn't want to risk sounding anymore foolish than she already was.

"A _friend, _eh?"

Alice closed her eyes and shook her head. "Did he give you his name or not?"

"No need to get snippy. He says he goes by Hatter."

Alice stepped closer to the old woman as she mentioned his name. "Do you know where he went?"

"From da looks of it, da city."

Alice nodded her head. "Thank you so much!"

She was about to turn around and seek out Hatter, before she realized that she had no idea where the city was or even the direction it was in.

"I'm so sorry to be bothering you so much, but where exactly is the city?"

This bit of information caught the old woman's eye. "Yer not from here are ya?"

Alice froze at these words. She didn't like the way this woman was looking at her or the tone she was using. She started to back up a little. She knew that in this situation, she had to think on her feet.

"Of course I'm from around here. It's just been a while, is all. You know, a week here is just an hour out of Wonderland. This garden wasn't here before! I'm just not really used to these surroundings. But I'm sure as soon as you point me in the right direction, I will be just dandy."

The woman was still giving Alice a very odd look, but Alice tried to remain calm under the pressure.

"Right…it's towards da east." The woman pointed Alice in the correct direction. "It's only 'bout a twenty minute walk."

"Thank you so much!"

Alice walked away from the woman's garden quickly. She didn't like the vibe she was getting from her.

The woman looked over at her dead flowers. She knew that she liked the boy that fell from the sky than the girl.

--

The city, as it turned out, wasn't too difficult to find. After about ten minutes of walking, Alice was able to see it. She walked as fast as she possibly could, trying to determine how long she was asleep when Hatter left her apartment and how far he had gotten.

Once she arrived at the city, she was immediately happy to see the construction work going on. She never really understood what the point of building the city above ground was.

But there was still no Hatter in sight. There were people walking around everywhere, but nobody really paid any real attention to her. She didn't want to ask someone if they saw someone with a hat, because that didn't narrow it down to too few people.

Alice found herself wandering about. She was taking various roads and streets until she found herself in a not so nice part of the city. She wanted to turn around, but she had a strange feeling that was pulling her forward.

She passed by a few closed stores and a few open ones. It wasn't until she passed by a clothing store that she knew she made the right decision. She saw a few jackets that looked quite like Hatter's. She even saw a few hats that would fit him.

From afar, Alice was able to look into the store. She realized that Hatter wasn't in there, but she kept walking. If something became too dangerous, she would simply turn around, no harm in that, right?

As she kept walking, she started to clutch her jacket closer to herself. As she rounded a corner, she bumped into someone very familiar.

"What are you doing here?"

* * *

**I know, I know. NOTHING HAPPENED. I should have really put this chapter in chapter four, and given you a more exciting chapter, but I didn't have this written and I wanted to get something out to you guys before I left. So this chapter is very short, but stuff will actually happen in the next chapter. **

**Thank you for the AMAZING reviews and...please don't hate me. **

**- Morine**


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter is filled with fluff galore- but the next chapter will have...CHARLIE! Enjoy!**

Chapter Six

Alice stepped away from Hatter's embrace. She loved the feeling of his arms around her, but she didn't want to be in Hatter's embrace if he didn't want her there.

"You know, I could ask you the same thing."

Hatter was taken aback by this harsh tone. Alice was always so sweet to him. She never raised her voice or got too upset over something.

"Alice, please answer my question. What are you doing here?"

Alice started to think that her following Hatter was a bad thing. She didn't know that he would be so upset over her following him.

"I…I…I was worried," she whispered. She tried to stay strong, but it didn't exactly turn out as planned. She felt tears start to cloud her vision. Betrayal was just one of the many emotions she was feeling.

Hatter was shocked to find Alice in Wonderland. He was trying his hardest to make sure she never stepped foot in it again. He wanted to keep her as safe as possible, and Wonderland just didn't have that kind of protection for her.

He wanted to tell her this, but at the moment, he noticed his pajama bottoms on her legs and could only really think about how adorable she looked and how he wanted to wrap her up in his arms and take her home.

He was busy staring at her pajama bottoms when he her sniffling. This caused his thoughts to become more sensible. Crying was something that Hatter was never familiar with until he met Alice. The emotions brought into Wonderland were only allowed to be good ones. After seeing tears fall out of Alice's eyes, he wanted to make sure that she never cried again.

Hatter never realized that he would be the cause of said tears one day. He wrapped his arms around her fragile body. She tried to blink back a few tears, but once her face had contact with his warm shirt, it was a little difficult to.

"Alice…"

His soft voice was always calming to Alice. He said her name with a hint of longing as well as something else.

But then Alice realized where they were and why she had started crying in the first place. She pulled away from Hatter before she was able to give in and wrap her arms around him.

She wiped a few of her tears away with the sleeve of her jacket. "I'm sorry for…bothering you. I see that it was not my place to come here."

Alice made a move to step away, but Hatter stopped her. He made the mistake of letting her go once. He wasn't going to do it again.

"You know that's now what I meant. By golly those pants look incredible on you," Hatter mumbled before realizing that he was getting distracted once again. "Alice…I…we can't talk about this here. How did you even get here?"

Alice shook her head and tried to stop the rest of her tears from pouring out. "It's not important."

Hatter started looking around at the streets. Nobody was walking around. He saw a few hookers roaming the streets but none of them paid any attention to him or Alice. He didn't want Alice to be in this part of town, it wasn't safe.

The next words that left Alice's mouth came out in a very hushed whisper. "Why did you leave?"

"Leave? I didn't le-"

Hatter looked directly into Alice's eyes. He realized then, how worried she was. He also realized the stupid mistake he made. He promised Alice that he would never leave her, and then he did exactly that.

Hatter put his hands on Alice's shoulders. "I was going to come back, Alice."

"Then why didn't you bring me with you?"

Hatter closed his eyes and tried to figure out a way to explain the situation in one sentence. "It's not safe for you here."

Alice raised her eyebrows. "What are you talking about, Hatter? I survived for a week in Wonderland just fine."

"Thanks to me!"

Alice stepped away, which caused her back to hit the brick wall. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind. But we need to get you out of the city. Here, follow me."

Hatter took Alice's hand in his own and dragged her through the dirty streets. Alice still wasn't so sure what was going on, but she followed him willingly anyways. She was beginning to get worried, but she didn't want to talk about it while Hatter was walking so quickly.

Approximately ten minutes later, Hatter and Alice were out of the city and in a garden of huge flowers. Hatter new this used to be filled with weeds and nothing else, but it was beginning to look quite pretty. The flowers were all at different heights. Some were as tall, even taller than Hatter and Alice, some only went up to their ankles.

Once they were about halfway into the garden, Hatter slowed his pace and figured that it was okay to let down his guard just a little bit.

He turned around, slightly out of breath because of the fast walking, and looked at Alice who seemed a little angry, sad, and confused.

"You still didn't answer my question. Why did you leave?"

Hatter was starting to regret his decision more and more. Alice used a very strong tone with him when they first met. But she had all of a reason to. He wasn't trustworthy and she didn't know him. But Hatter never would have guessed her to use that tone with him after all they went through. It was as if the past few weeks never happened.

"Alice, please hear me through before you say anything rash. When I left, Wonderland was getting back on its feet. Jack had started making a lot of changes. He's making the economy more like the one you are familiar with. Coins are being produced. Jack helped me get to you, but it's been a month since then. I told Charlie that I would bring you back, but then I didn't."

Alice furrowed her eyebrows. "Why didn't you bring me back?"

Hatter let out a huge breath. He didn't want to trouble Alice anymore than he was already doing. "The casino was knocked down, but that doesn't stop the tea trade. There are people, many people, still trading the emotions illegally. Many people are getting coins for the emotions."

"How can they do that without oysters? They can't possibly be allowed to go through the looking glass."

"They're not. Someone has been able to create their own looking glass, one that doesn't need the stone of Wonderland. Someone, I'm assuming the same person, was able to generate a machine that works just like the casino. Alice, if they find that stamp on your arm, they'll take you away."

Alice rubbed the spot on her arm where the tattoo was. For some reason, the mark didn't show up in her world, but it remained noticeable in Wonderland. Hatter was happy she had the sense to remember a jacket.

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

Hatter's hands balled into fists in his frustration. "Because I knew that if I did, you would want to come with me to put an end to this problem."

"Of course I would want to go with you! Hatter, they're taking innocent people."

"I know. That's why I came back. I was planning on figuring out a way to find the source of the problem and tell Jack. I also needed to explain to Charlie the situation. He's been waiting for us. I would have been back before the sun rose. You would still have been in bed! I wasn't planning on being gone for more than an hour. Two hours, top."

Alice didn't say anything back to Hatter. She didn't know what to say.

Hatter thought that her silence meant that she didn't believe him. "I was going to come straight back, Alice."

"I believe you."

"Oh thank goodness."

Hatter wrapped his arms around Alice's petite waist tightly. Her jacket was open, which meant that there was only the thin layer of her shirt separating them. Alice's arms immediately wrapped around Hatter's neck as she leaned in to kiss him. He, of course, met her half way.

Hatter wanted to do nothing more than lift Alice up and take her back home to their nice and warm bed. But Hatter came to his senses sooner than he usually did.

"How did you find me?"

The couple remained wrapped around each other, but Alice rested her head on Hatter's chest. "I asked the woman who worked at the garden where you went. She said that you went towards the city. So I went there, and I just kind of walked around."

"How did you get to the lower part of the city? Why did you wander down there?"

"I just followed my instincts."

Hatter kissed Alice's forehead. "Never go back there again, okay? I know there are some pretty sketchy men in your world, Alice. But it's ten times worse in Wonderland. They're disgusting here. One look at a pretty girl, and they stuff a bottle of lust down your throat and take you with them. It's horrid, just sick and horrid. I'm not saying that everyone is like this, but most men in the lower part of the city are."

Goosebumps started to form on Alice's arms. She knew that Wonderland wasn't exactly perfect, she just didn't assume it was as bad as Hatter was making it. Hatter sensed her discomfort and held her closer to his body.

"Hatter? What would happen to me if I drank any emotions?"

"You know…I'm not so sure. I'm guessing it would have a similar affect to if I drank an emotion. It's just that we have the technology to take your emotions. We have all grown addicted to the oyster's emotions. I wouldn't suggest trying it though, just in case something does go wrong."

Alice nodded her head in understanding. "Have you grown addicted to the emotions?"

"Now why would I need emotions anymore when I've got you?"

Alice giggled lightly into Hatter's chest. He unwillingly unwrapped his arms from around Alice's waist and gave her one last peck on the lips. "We should get going."

"Where are we going?"

"To Charlie of course!"

A wide grin formed on Alice's face. She missed her old friend and the adventures they went on together. He always managed to do something or say something to brighten up her day. Without Charlie, the queen might have still had rule over Wonderland.

This time, it was Alice who was dragging Hatter through the fields of Wonderland.


End file.
